Be careful where you put your butts!

(Gillette, Wyo.) The Campbell County Fire Department, after responding to several fire calls yesterday that were caused by carelessness, issued a reminder this morning to be mindful of how and where you discard cigarette butts.

Burn restrictions are still in place and discarding smoking material from vehicles can be especially dangerous.

Wednesday at 11:56 a.m., CCFD arrived at Ledoux Avenue to find a third story balcony fire that had been extinguished by the apartment's automatic sprinkler system. The cause was determined to be a discarded cigarette in potting soil on the balcony. Damages are estimated at $200.

"Full credit must be given to the automatic sprinkler system on this one," said Fire Chief Bill Shank in a statement. "If it weren’t for the quick detection and extinguishment by the system, the estimated damage cost would be significant and many people would have been displaced from their homes."

Less than an hour later at 12:44 p.m., crews were checking the alley behind Joe’s Pet Depot on Ross Avenue for a possible lightning strike. A small section of the parking area, about twelve feet long and nine inches wide, was found with burned grass and leaves. No evidence of lightning was found.